Is Blue The Card For You (American Express)

Member Name: criple

Product:	American Express
Date:	13/11/02 (1348 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low Balance Transfer Rate, Cardmember Offers, 1% Cashback

Disadvantages: Limited Retailers Accepting Them, £15 Charge

Why is it that when you are up to your eyeballs in debt with credit cards that you are sure to receive a 'personal invitation' for an 'already approved' card? And why is it that when you stop off at a service station and you?re desperate for the loo you get accosted by someone trying to sell you car breakdown insurance or, yes, another credit card?

That's exactly what happened to me when I was desperate for the loo and also in danger of falling asleep at the wheel. I stumbled out of the car with eyes like piss holes in the snow trying to find my way to the toilet only to be accosted by an American Express sales person. At that particular time I would much rather have been abducted by aliens and I must have looked like a prime suspect. Dog tired, bedraggled, fed up and I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. This must be when they get most people to sign up, as they will either get the 2 fingers or someone like me who will do anything for a quiet life. All I remember hearing was that I would get a low balance transfer rate for life and all about these wonderful benefits you would get as a blue card member. Very little sunk in at the time and I consoled myself with the fact that if I didn't want the card when it came I could cancel it. I think you get 14 days to do this.

It was the Blue card that I applied for and true to its name about 3 weeks later the card arrived in a nice snazzy blue design. They have updated the cards now and they are a predominantly white background with a shiny blue square in the middle with your card number etc. They do look quite classy and I think they would appeal to the younger generation. I filled in a paper application form for mine and whether you do this or apply on line you will need to meet certain criteria or you will be refused.

1) You have to be aged 18 or over
2) You have to have a current UK Bank or Building Society account
3) You have to have a regular income of
over £8000
4) Have a permanent UK home address
5) Have no county court judgements for non-payment of debt
6) If you are self employed you need to have been trading for over a year

You must also agree to their terms and conditions that can be read on line. Once you have agreed to the above statements and have confirmed that you have read the T&Cs you will proceed through the rest of the application process. If you do, please be aware that they will; a) do a credit check against you, b) they will check with fraud prevention agencies that you have given correct information, c) check your identity to prevent money laundering, d) use various methods to assist in evaluating your credit worthiness, e) contact your bank or building society or any other referee approved by you to obtain any information required.

Applying for a credit card is quite serious stuff, you must make sure at this point that you have fully understood what you are signing up for and that they information you have provided is correct. Obviously they aren't going to throw you in prison if you spell your name wrong but don't lie, THEY WILL FIND OUT!

Now that I've scared the pants off you if you meet the above criteria and would like to know more about the benefits of a Blue Card then read on.

At the moment anyone who applies will be entered in to a competition to win a Sony Plasma TV. Don't let this cloud your judgement, as the chances of winning will be pretty slim. Competitions are all well and good but surely the benefits should be of a more permanent nature and there are plenty of those too. Here is a quick run down of what is currently available:

1) 1% Money back / this is shown on your statement and is added to your account once per year on your account anniversary. You do not get money back on balance transfers or cash withdrawals. This is higher than the Egg card at the moment which currently stands at 0.5%

2) Perm
anently low balance transfer rate / my transfer rate is set at 4.9% and will stay at that rate. Not bad compared to other cards that may have a low rate for a period of five or six months. This will stay for the full term of your balance.

3) No annual fee / most cards offer no annual fee. The Blue card used to have a £10 fee and I argued with them over this and they did not charge me. I was pleased when they decided to waive the fee. I have now received a letter stating that if you spend less than £500 per year you will be charged an administrative fee of £15 per annum. Of course I am not happy with this as I don?t use the card that often.


4) Online Fraud Protection / well, this generally covers any misuse of the card when used online but will also extend to misuse in general. The only thing I can find about this in the T&Cs is that you may be liable for the first £20 of any losses if the card was used without your knowledge or the full amount if you knew about it.

5) Refund Protection / this is to refund any money to you when you make a purchase and for whatever reason you are unable to get a refund from the retailer.

6) Online Account Access / as it says, you can access your account online which is a huge benefit. You can make payments, arrange balance transfers change contact details and many other services from the comfort of your home. You need to register online and set up a user name and password.

7) Travel Accident Insurance / they offer a certain amount of insurance but it is not intended to replace proper travel insurance.

8) Great Card Member Deals / you can take advantage of specially reduced rates for hotel accommodation, wine, nights out etc when you have a blue card. All cardmember rewards can be found online with details of how to apply. Please note cardmember offers are different to membership rewards. Blue card members are NOT entitled to join membership rewards which is a scheme that
costs £23.50 and you get one point for every pound you charge to your card (assuming this is for charge card holders only) and then you can redeem them for goods and services.

9) At the moment the Apr is 18.9%, they seem to think this is low, I don't.

************** OTHER STUFF***********

The statements are sent monthly and you must pay either 3% of the balance or £5 whichever is the most. You get 25 days from the statement date to do this. If you fail to do this they reserve the right to impose a £15 charge, they can also do this if you go over your credit limit.

The website is usually up and running, I manage to transact all my dealings on line and only needed to contact customer services once. This was when I told them I wanted to cancel my card as I wasn't prepared to pay the £10 annual fee that they initially wanted. I also told them that the interested rate was to high compared to other cards. I don't know whether I caught the adviser on a good day but they arranged to give a low APR for a few months and a permanent balance transfer rate of 4.9% and they waived the annual fee, forever (please note new T&Cs regarding £15)

They were very polite and helpful and answered my query there and then. There was no waiting for a call back. If you have a Blue card and are thinking of cancelling, which you must do in writing and return the card it is worth giving them a ring first.

You may have difficulty with some stores accepting American Express. It is not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard both on and offline. You can inform them if you come across a retailer that doesn't accept the card and they will try and get them to accept it for you, I wouldn't hold my breath. Some countries will not accept payment from any American Express card whatsoever so check if you can use it before you travel abroad. I would always take a Visa and Mastercard with me when gong ab
road anyway to be sure I can use at least one of them. If you use the card abroad it will depend on the exchange rate at the time as to how much it converts to in sterling. There isn?t an actual charge for doing this.

The benefits can be quite good and it is one of the main reasons why I kept the card. I once received a £7.50 Amazon voucher. Cardmember offers can easily be found and they include discounts off theatre, eating out, hotels etc.

At the moment I am holding on to my Blue card to decide if I am going to keep it if I have to pay the annual charge of £15. It isn't worth keeping a balance on as the APR is much too high at 18.9%, egg is only 12.9% and at the moment my RBS Advanta card is at 0%. It might be worth spending the £500 a year on it to avoid the charge on things like Shopping and petrol which I would pay off when the bill came in each month. I usually put these things on my Tesco Visa card but as Blue are giving 1% cash back (more than egg at 0.5%) and it is worth more than the Tesco points (1 point for every 2 spent on the visa), it might not be a bad idea.

Before you decide if it is the card for you have a good look at the website, www.americanexpress.com or contact their Blue Card customer services on 01273 576 576

There is no predetermined credit limit as they decide this when you apply for the card. You can of course ask for an increase or a decrease at any time.

I am reluctant to give up on it just yet due to the low balance transfer rate and the card member benefits. The 1% cash back is pretty good so it has a lot going for it. The downside is the limited places that will accept it and the fact that it may cost you £15 a year if you don't spend £500 per annum. Not to mention the 18.9% APR if you don't pay off the balance in full. My advice would be not to go for this card if you are pretty sure you will spend a lot and not clear the balance in full. Go for it if you have a large balance
to transfer and can take advantage of the low balance transfer rate or if you pay the balance off in full each month.

Check it out if you're looking for a new card, blue may be the one for you. There are other American Express cards available such as Green, Gold and Charge cards. Charge cards are different to credit cards in that there is no pre set credit limit but you have to pay the balance off in full each month. I couldn't possibly go through them all with you as I only have experience of the Blue card anyway. I'll quit now or I?ll be here forever, thanks suemagee, I?m knackered now!

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